Jesus Narrative

I became a Christian when I was 8 years old in the summer between 1st grade and 2nd grade, I grew up in a Christian household, and we went/still go to First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, TN. As I grew up I found that I thought what it meant to be a Christian was by going to church, believing in Jesus, and being kind to others, that is what I thought until high school, I knew there was much more to it, but I did not know where to start. Once I hit high school, I became more grounded in my faith. I developed a great Sunday school group all four years that I was blessed to have and they were not afraid to go deeper and I also joined the last two years of high school growing in a Wednesday night group. I thought of my Sunday school teachers

I was a Follower of Christ and I didn’t even know it. I was the last of three boys to two faithful Christian parents. My parents attended St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Akron, OH. I was baptized and confirmed by the same Bishop. Some of my earliest memories are of me standing in the pews with my parents and stacking the prayer books as if it were my own pulpit and I would pretend to be the priest giving the Sunday sermon. I didn’t know what he was talking about but I always thought that I would be like him one day. I was an acolyte and attended the youth programs regularly with my friends. I completed my studies to earn my God and Country award with the Boy Scouts.

Here I interacted with similarly aged Christians and did learning activities together with instructors. As I got older, when I attended LaSalle Springs Middle School, I began to participate in Vacation Bible School as a teacher and would give out activities for the younger children to do. Shortly after, I went through conformation to officially become a member of the Church. During this time, I was also baptized because I wasn’t at birth.

Every year, The Barn Wesley Foundation provides us with the amazing opportunity to experience a connection with God at Timber Creek Camp. We are blessed to enjoy three days at the camp and share a unique, bonding moment with all of our peers from Perkinston and many students from other colleges who also attend the event. I have been able to attend this event twice, and each time has proven to be a wonderful adventure, helping each and every one of us surpass our difficulties and leave our burdens on Christ.

Young life is a non-denominational Christian ministry that is based on reaching out to adolescents through staff, club meetings, and camps introducing Christianity and encouraging the construction of a relationship with Christ. It wasn't until I found my identity in Christ, did I stop feeling incapable and insecure. I spent countless months being an angry and mislead high schooler, while I could have spent that time building fire and passion for my relationship with Jesus Christ. Until I began to live my life knowing that I served a God that thought I was a priceless work of art, I was not able to dismiss the feeling of being unwanted and incapable. The pure joy that I gained through Young Life and my relationship with the Lord, made me contagious to those around me. With a great sense of pride, I can now say that I graduated from that very same high school with an outstanding group of friends. Friendships that exceeded the bounds of a small town rivalry and showed me that I indeed, was

I was a Christian, but I would tell myself I was not nearly as strong in my faith as some other people on the mission trip were. I had shut God out of life for an entire year and wasn’t sure if I’d get him back. However, I found out that all you have to do is say yes to God’s plans and He will take care of the rest, no matter how inexperienced, unequipped, or unprepared you think you are. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “To be yourself in a world that is trying to make you something else is a great accomplishment.” That quote I have lived by. I use to give in to society and be someone I knew I wasn’t. I now know I am that happy and bubbly girl that has the most contagious smile. I know I am a girl who lends a helping hand to those who need it most. I know I am a girl who has future goals and accomplishments. I want to stay close with God and continue to pursue a career as a psychiatric nurse, and alcoholic dependency counselor. I want to be able to save lives that are worth living for, something that I didn’t have. Though my life has been no were near perfect, I was still able to find out who I

Camp incorporated all aspects that I loved about Jesus and allowed me to see all the things God wanted to show me about myself. Before I was a part of the Leader in Training program at camp, I never thought I’d carry a nine-year old girl on my back, racing up a rugged trail and trying not to falter, so that she could receive medical attention. I never saw myself as someone patient enough to stand at the top of a zip-line for thirty minutes to gently coax my camper to take the leap of faith. I never saw it in myself, but I found myself falling in love with seeing the growth in my campers personally and spiritually in just a few days. God developed this type of

I was saved in my youth, but in words only as I was not regenerated. As a kid, my parents took us to church every week and I learned scripture, studied the bible, read and participated in youth groups, participated in Boy Scouts from age 4.5 (earning my Eagle Scout at 17) and even joined Inter-varsity Christian Fellowship in my undergrad.

Young Life is an organization that is very near and dear to my heart and one that I believe has had a huge impact on my life personally. So, what is it? Young Life is “a non-denominational Christian ministry group that reaches out to young kids through volunteers, staff, club meetings, and camps by building meaningful relationships” (Younglife.org). There are multiple branches of ministry that includes everything from college students through middle school, all the way to ones in other countries. They are accepting of absolutely every walk of life, through Young Lives which helps young girls that are pregnant raising their own children, to Capernaum which helps youths with mental or physical disabilities. The idea behind it is to have a ministry

We all have life events that shape who we are. For me, that event was the two mission trips that I went on with my church. Beginning in the summer of 2013, some of the youth from Christ Church in Warwick, NY, traveled to San Jose, Costa Rica, to start the construction on an Episcopal Church. We then returned in the summer of 2015 to continue our work on the same church, Iglesia Episcopal La Ascensiόn. What I didn’t know, was how much these trips would impact my life.

Growing up in church and a Christian home led me to my saving faith in Jesus at a young age followed by baptism at nine years old. However, my biggest growth came a year ago when God made it clear to me that I needed to focus on my leadership role and purpose in the church. Out of obedience I joined the worship team and made a valiant effort to lead by example in my youth group. Having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ gives me the help and desire I need to live a good life with discipline and self-control. The ROTC program I attended my freshman year of high school taught me about hard work, integrity, and how to be a strong leader. These things, I believe, will help me not only find success at Liberty University but also help me share

On August 7, I returned to a church summer camp, I hadn’t attended since the 7th grade. In totality, I had attended the camp that is held annually only 3 times. Down in Grapeland, Texas, Frontier Camp is notorious for leaving an actual mark on the kids, make that plural--leaving marks and scars that last a lifetime. When you get, a chance look under my neck and examine the truth itself, my 8-year old body was stood no chance against the barbed wire I collided with when we were playing a night game. This is the biggest reason it took me 5 more years to return was my dad's reaction towards that incident. However, spiritually the camp was able to install foundations in me that I still use today no matter where I am because the camp directors really understood the art of relating the message to the child's world. Counselor in Leadership Training

For my service this semester, I led a small group of middle school girls on a retreat with many other middle schoolers through the faith formation program at Saint Ambrose of Woodbury Catholic Church. We listened to talks about being one’s authentic self and how to live a christian life. Some of the talks spoke about how we all wear masks and identify ourselves as one thing, but that we should truly focus on our identities as loved and special children of God. We also went to Mass and Adoration and spent a lot of time in prayer and talking about the different ways to further our relationships with God.

Jesus Christ usually spoke the most important truths to only one person, the Samaritan woman at the well who is unnamed. Having been rejected by people in Jesus’ hometown, as to include his family members, Jesus taught his works in cities around Galilee. He selected employing people like fishermen to follow him and learn his teachings. Jesus became friends with common people and ate with them. He opposed and shunned religious leaders, who envied and disapproved of him. Jesus taught in many different places. These places include the temple